Saturday, August 10, 2013

August 10 - Handmade Charms and Wrapping

I wrapped several small presents today and used up one of those rolls of wrapping paper I showed you from my basement. I love it when that happens. I've wiped out two rolls so far. Remember, I'm waiting until December to add ribbons and trim. For now, I just want things to stack and store nicely.


The coolest thing I did today was finish one of my nieces' charm necklaces. I started with Sarah's, because I know how to spell her name best. The charms are reversible, so on one side she has her name, and on the other side, little pictures.



I added the charms next to the fastener and heart on purpose. I think those will look cute in front!

TALLY 
1 gift for Dad, delivered and wrapped
2 gifts for 1 brother-in-law, delivered, picked up, wrapped
1 gift for other brother-in-law, delivered and wrapped
3 gifts for nieces, charms for one necklace finished
1 gift for sister, delivered and wrapped
1 gift for 1 son, delivered and wrapped
4 gifts for 1 son, all delivered and wrapped
2 gifts for 1 girl, delivered and wrapped
Photo prints for scrapbook, delivered - Better start the book!
Oodles of gift bags for neighbors and friends

August 9 - Money Laundering

Catchy title, isn't it?

Today I did two things.
  1. Money Checkup
  2. Laundering
Not my actual credit cards and cash.

The money checkup involved planning how I will pay for remaining gifts and assessing the payment methods I have used so far. Your basic personal accounting. Christmas shopping adds up, you know.


The laundering involved taking dirty clothes from various rooms of the house to the washroom where I washed and dried them.

If that doesn't get one in the Christmas spirit, I don't know what on earth would.

Friday, August 9, 2013

August 8 - Six Gifts in Six Minutes

Gift cards are my friend. I love to receive them, and I love to give them! Just ordered six for a few people who may be reading this blog, so let's be vague and leave it at that. So. Easy.

 TALLY 
1 gift for Dad, ordered
2 gifts for 1 brother-in-law, delivered, picked up, wrapped
1 gift for other brother-in-law, ordered
3 gifts for nieces, all delivered and/or picked up
1 gift for sister, delivered today
1 gift for 1 son, ordered
4 gifts for 1 son, 1 delivered and wrapped, 3 ordered
2 gifts for 1 girl, ordered
Photo prints for scrapbook, delivered
Oodles of gift bags for neighbors and friends




Thursday, August 8, 2013

August 7 - Awesome Deliveries

Oh the weather outside is tropical,
But the air inside's delightful!
And since we don't care to get dressed,
UPS, UPS, UPS!

The necklaces I ordered for my nieces are PERFECT! The UPS man brought these as well as Crankee Doodle and sister's gift today.




As if that weren't exciting enough, the U.S. Postal Service delivered my 284 Snapfish prints!

TALLY 
1 gift for Dad, ordered
2 gifts for 1 brother-in-law, delivered, picked up, wrapped
1 gift for other brother-in-law, ordered
3 gifts for nieces, all delivered and/or picked up
1 gift for sister, delivered today
1 gift for 1 son, delivered, wrapped
Photo prints for scrapbook, delivered
Oodles of gift bags for neighbors and friends

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

August 6 - Didn't do much

Today, Son #2 and I spent many hours going through old family photos and other miscellanea in the basement. It took forever. I didn't do anything concrete with Christmas in August, but I got a great idea for a girl on my list. Here's a souvenir from today's excavation.

My grandmother, age 18

Monday, August 5, 2013

August 5 - UPS Deliveries and Wrapping


The packages have started arriving! The UPS man brought two today.

Between piano lessons this afternoon, I went back to Kirkland's to fetch those big zebra pillows I picked out for my nieces. Each one is slightly different, so they'll be able to know which one belongs to whom - a big deal with these girls.


This evening, I asked my dad what he wanted for Christmas, and he eventually gave me a decent answer. His gift has been ordered!

Wanna know something I love about shopping at amazon? You don't need to keep the receipts. You can return or exchange things without them by just printing out a new one from their site. The thing I don't like is that I would rather find everything at local mom and pop shops, but I'm just too busy, and amazon is just too easy.

G I F T    W R A P

Last year for Christmas in August, I had a gift wrap color scheme going on. It was lovely. I used any combination of red, white, and black. This year's theme is not about color. It's about clutter. It's called, "Use up all that wrap in the basement." 



I wrapped one big and two tiny packages today. I'll hold off on ribbon until December so things will stack nicely. Here's what the basement hearth looks like today.


That's not a fire in the background. It's a see-through fireplace, and those are lamps on a table.

In other developments, Son #2 has started compiling his list. It will be short. He's into high-dollar musical instrument items. Last year I was worried about his not having many things to open, but he said he loved it that way and wants to do the same thing this year.


TALLY 
1 gift for Dad
2 gifts for 1 brother-in-law
1 gift for other brother-in-law
3 gifts for nieces
1 gift for sister
1 gift for 1 son
Photo prints for scrapbook have been shipped
Oodles of gift bags for neighbors and friends



Sunday, August 4, 2013

August 4 - Zebras, Charms, Thermometers


It's 9:00 p.m., and I just barely fit in some Christmas shopping and planning today! I called my sister up and found out that the cool zebra pillows I spotted at Kirkland's on August 1 would actually be great for my nieces. My sister's family will be driving up from Florida and joining us this year, but I was worried about giving them bulky gifts that might be difficult to store in the car. No problem, according to Sis. They are driving up in a big vehicle with plenty of storage space. So, I'm going to go back to Kirkland's and grab three of those zebra pillows right away...if they haven't all sold out.



She also gave me a gift idea for her grill-out-loving husband. Apparently, he's always breaking meat thermometers (haha), so I found him a nice one on amazon.com. This one was rated highly.

While I was talking to sister, I remembered that I know how to make very cool charms. Why not buy my three nieces charm necklaces and hook unique charms on each one? They wouldn't fight over which one was theirs because I could make sure the charms have their initial on one side. Pretty cool, huh? Here's the necklace I picked out.
TALLY
2 gifts for 1 brother-in-law
1 gift for other brother-in-law
2 gifts for nieces + new idea
1 gift for sister
1 gift for 1 son
Photo prints for scrapbook ordered
Oodles of gift bags for neighbors and friends